The Album (Buy)

The Album

The album reflects shared values around creativity and the importance of supporting working musicians in the northwest and around the world. It features Mike collaborating with artists from bands including the Posies, Hey Marseilles, Cataldo, Fences, Heart, Creme Tangerine, Portugal The Man, Tennis Pro, michael kroll, peter benjamin, zach lombardo, hemlock pop and shaprece. damn, that's a lot of indie artists so check it out. and did we mention we are teaming up with the grammys(r) and a portion of all proceeds from concerts, cds and merch go to musicares.

The self-titled FM Collective album features a combination of indie-pop originals by Mike Lucero and his fellow artists as well as radically re-interpreted covers of songs that Mike has been playing for years. Here's a quick overview of the songs. The CD will be available at launch shows beginning September 5th, and digital versions will be available earlier that week. Here's a quick walk through the album (not necessarily in this order):

"Age of Consent"- Eric Anderson totally recreates this 80's classic. HIs amazing voice and the style of this song are a testament to the soul of this album

"The One (That Matters)" - A collaboration with Mike and Ken Stringfellow, this song takes a twisted journey through the mind of a soldier on the battlefield and why they do what they do. The subject matter transcends beyond the battle of a soldier and applies to broader matters of importance.

"Karma Police" - Thom Yorke meets Tom Waits in this stripped down version of the Radiohead classic. Peter Schatz, who's Seattle's pre-eminent Radiohead expert, designed this re-interpretation including vocals piped in from Berlin by Samson Koerschneck. Sean Lane uses "the bike" on this. Can't wait to get the video out for this one to show that off. Stay tuned.

"GRS" - The Golden Rule song is a collaboration between Mike and Phil Peterson. This song takes on one of the oldest doctrines of civilization and seeks to identify the common ground for all humanity to peacefully co-exist and accept diversity. No song is more relevant to current times than GRS.

"Waltz #2" - The Elliot Smith classic re-interpreted and no longer a waltz. Colin Richey has taken the Waltz out and created a dark gem with Ira Merrill providing the stoic vocals that reflect the disfunction between Elliot Smith and his mother.

"Cruelest Season" - Another tear-jerking original by Michael Kroll. Produced by Sam Anderson this is an epic number that puts Michael's songwriting in the spotlight alongside Sam's producing and string skills

"Come Back" - A Michael Kroll original song about toxic love and loss.

"The Gift" - A Michael Kroll original, the Gift acknowledges the good things that have been given to us and encourages us not to take them for granted.

"Eleanor Rigby" - Jeff Lockhart who plays in Creme Tangerine, the Beatles cover band, wanted to find a new setting for this classic song. The setting is Memphis and Terry Mattson's funky bass line combined with Daniel Butman's slick string adaptation redefines this classic.

"I Will Follow You into the Dark"- Zach Lombardo's bright and sonorous voice graces much of the album and truly shines in this piano/vocal re-interpretation of this song.

Terry Mattson served as sound engineer and played a key producing role on most of the songs. Ken was Producer and served key roles (including song-writing) on The One That Matters.